Monday Minute

9:12 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments

Bear Naked

9:04 AM Jackie Mart 2 Comments

Granola. A health food? This is one item I see many people throw in their shopping carts.  Here is a popular brand that frequents the aisles. If you look closely at the label you will see it contains 7 grams of sugar in a 1/4 cup serving.  The real number you need to look at is the carbohydrates because carbs turn into sugar in the body.  22 grams. Divide this number and divide it by 4.  Why 4? For every 4 grams listed on a food label there is one 1 teaspoon of sugar.  So a 1/4 cup serving of this granola really has 5.5 teaspoons of sugar.  Would you sit down and eat 5.5 teaspoons of sugar out of a sugar bowl? Probably not, but this is how much sugar you are consuming in that tiny amount of granola! 






Another thing to look at on the label is the ingredient list.  The first thing I noticed was the word, "processed." Processed foods are made in a factory and changed from their natural state to something man-made and devoid of enzymes and contain less nutrients.  Do you see the sugars in the ingredient list? There are 4 of them: brown rice syrup, apples (even though this is natural sugar it still contains fructose), sugar, tapioca syrup.  Another ingredient I want to point out is canola oil. Read about the health concerns of canola oil here: http://draxe.com/understanding-the-facts-about-canola-oil/

If you need something crunchy to add into your yogurt add in raw nuts and seeds! 


*This is just one of the many topics I go over during my grocery store tours at the local store where you shop. To find out more information or to schedule a tour please contact me. 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com 





Copyright, 2015, Jackie Mart. For further information about this blog, or Optimum Wellness LLC, contact Jackie Mart at 712.790.5883 or Jackie@OptimumWellnessMN.com. As a holistic nutritionist and lifestyle coach, I will support you in taking steps to a healthier and happier you. My goal is to help you create an art of balance in your life. You will also learn how important balance between primary foods (relationships, physical activity, sleep, career and spirituality) and secondary foods (organic food and whole food) is.

Navigating the Salad Bar

10:57 AM Jackie Mart 0 Comments

Lunch time!! You forgot your lunch at home and had time to swing by your local grocery store to snag a salad.  

• Green leafy lettuce (the greener the better)
• Raw vegetables of any kind
• Hard-boiled egg
• Raw sunflower seeds or other raw nuts, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, hemp seeds
• Grilled chicken or fish
• Cheese (not too much)
• Oil (extra virgin olive oil) and vinegar (don’t feel bad about over indulging on the extra virgin olive oil)
• Quinoa 
• Avocado

• Salami type sliced meats (processed and have nitrates) 
• Ice burg lettuce (no nutritional value) 
• Deep fried chicken and other meats (self explanatory) 
• Salted, roasted sunflower seeds and other nuts (made with damaged oils and added salt) 
• Croutons (processed) 
• Dressings made with sugar and mayo (this is where a lot of the calories are, food additives and chemicals) or pasta salads made with mayo
• Fat Free dressings (when they take out the fat they add sugar and chemicals to make it taste better!) 
• Bacon bits (processed and probably doesn't even contain bacon)